The Thomas Junta family lost. The Michael Costin family lost. And youth sports also lost.

On January 25, Junta was sentenced to six to 10 years for involuntary manslaughter in Cambridge, Massachusetts, after beating Michael Costin to death in July 2000 after the two got into an argument because Junta objected to rough play during a pickup ice hockey game. Costin's three sons and Junta's son were among the players in the game.

The jury found that Junta did not intend to kill Costin but went too far during the fight.

This should never have happened.

With the softball season upon us, it would be wise for parents and coaches to reflect on this case. Unfortunate as it is, this case might be a wake-up call for some softball coaches and parents in this country who have lost perspective and treat their games like matters of life and death.

They put too much pressure on the athletes, and the athletes in turn put pressure on themselves to please the coach. Are the athletes having fun? Only they can answer that, but how much fun can it be for a 10- or 11-year-old to be in a pressure cooker game after game? Playing softball and other amateur sports is supposed to be fun.

Fun? It still may be for young participants, but also part of that "fun" is the pressure to excel, to win at all costs, and to receive a Division I athletics scholarship to please Mom and Dad who have spent thousands of dollars on clinics and camps and who want a return on their investment.

Somewhere in all this, maybe the children will learn sportsmanship, discipline, determination, working together with others, character building, coping with adversity and failure, and learning about themselves as they develop into adults.

Parents and coaches take their value systems, including their emotions, and want the athletes to have the same intensity and emotional involvement they do. It can't be done. In due time, the children gradually will learn as they move up the ladder of competition what roles intensity and emotion play in softball and other sports. The point is that if the children learn it gradually through their own development instead of through shock treatment by parents and coaches, they will retain their love, enthusiasm and joy of playing the sport. We all need joy in our lives, and the joy of playing an amateur sport such as softball is something a child in particular should never lose.

So, coach, manager and parent, as the season starts, think about how you would feel if you had to spend the next six to 10 years in jail because of a senseless act of losing control of your emotions and going too far. It could happen -- and unfortunately, it already has. Let's see that it doesn't happen again.

Bill Plummer III manages the National Softball Hall of Fame and is the editor of The Inside Pitch, the organization's official publication.